He said one benefit of his father working at the State Department has been the family's extensive travels, through which he's been able to 'meet people and see their ideals of how they want to change the world.' It was the former president who initiated the video call to pass along his congratulations to Jacob, saying he'd heard he was about to graduate. Jacob Philadelphia, 18, speaks on a video call with former President Barack Obama, May 27, 2022, in a screengrab from video posted on Obama's official website. 'If I get to see another Black man be at the top, at that pinnacle, then I want to follow that lead,' he said. I didn't know how powerful he was… I kinda remember him towering over me, and me touching his hair.' 'I just thought the president was my dad's boss. 'I was five years old when I met President Obama in the Oval Office,' he says in the video released by the former president's office.
